By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rony Zino was arraigned on Tuesday on an indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 75-year-old woman he is accused of hitting with his truck as she was crossing a street in Ridgewood with the aid of a walker.
Zino, 27, of Flushing, was arraigned on a six-count indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide, two counts of failure to yield, failing to signal, failure to exercise due care and reckless driving.
According to the charges:
Video surveillance shows that on Oct. 11 at approximately 11 a.m., Zino, driving a 2020 Dodge Ram pickup truck, stopped at a red light on the corner of 60th Road and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood.
Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
“It is incumbent upon anyone who gets behind the wheel to follow the law, including yielding to pedestrians,” DA Katz said.
When the light turned green, Zino waited about seven seconds before turning northbound onto Fresh Pond Road, where he struck Linda Lee Hirsch, of Seale, AL. Hirsch, who was using a walker to cross the street, had the right of way.
The impact from the pickup truck caused Hirsch to fall and strike her head against the pavement. She was transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery. She was pronounced dead on Oct. 20.
“We have too often seen the tragic results of reckless driving when motorists ignore the rules of the road,” Katz said. “It is incumbent upon anyone who gets behind the wheel to follow the law, including yielding to pedestrians. We will hold this defendant accountable for his actions.”
If convicted, Zino faces up to four years in prison.
